Description: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Cyprus where he met with the Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, where they discussed the potential for Cyprus to become India’s trade corridor to Europe. PM Modi and President Nikos will officially meet on Monday where Modi is expected to visit the Cypriot Presidential Palace, however, they met on Sunday attending an unofficial business reception where reportedly several memorandums of cooperation between the two countries were agreed upon. Modi’s visit to Cyprus is considered as a diplomatic signal towards Turkey, which vigorously supported Pakistan in the latest armed confrontations between the two Asian countries. Modi’s visit is also considered to be a counterbalancing initiative to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative, in an attempt to subvert Chinese economic and trade dominance. Modi’s tour is expected to end in Croatia, after visiting Canada and meeting PM Carney on the outskirts of the G7 Summit scheduled to begin on Monday, 16 Jun.
Impact: Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Cyprus arrives in a period of global warfare upheaval and economic insecurity which India targets to exploit as one of the world’s fastest growing economies. India has a differentiated strategic portfolio, cooperating with Russia, China on some levels but also developing consistent partnerships with the US and Europe. Cyprus has an extremely favorable geostrategic position which enables the country to assert itself as the main facilitator of interconnectedness between Asian and European markets. The strengthening of ties between Cyprus and India would mostly negatively impact Turkey, which is also aiming at positioning itself as the capital procurator of energy and business relationships between Asian and European markets.